Statements of the Chairman of the JBF & President of the Sotoshu

I am deeply moved to meet the 70th anniversary of the ending of the WWII.

The valuable and irreplaceable lives of three million one hundred thousand people in Japan and eighty five million people throughout the world were sacrificed to the fires of this war.

Here we dedicate our sincere condolences and sincerely face with reflection the past of Buddhists who cooperated in the war. We receive the wishes of each and every victim and renew strongly our determination neither to make wars, nor to be the means for others do so.

Since the inception of the Japan Buddhist Federation, we have consistently striven to proclaim Buddhist culture and in this way to contribute to world peace. On this occasion of the 70th anniversary of the War’s end, we renew our vow of “no war” and of peace with our member institutions, based on the Buddha’s spirit of harmony.

Statement of the President of the Sotoshu (Soto School)

We come to the 70th anniversary of the end of the Asia Pacific War. In this epochal year we dedicate our sincere condolences to all of those who died in the war.

We also reflect on the fact that our school cooperated with the war by following the current of the political situation and of public opinion then. We squarely see our duty in the fulfillment of peace, and we renew our determination never to repeat the same mistakes.

The life of each and every living being is irreplaceable, and its dignity should never be threatened, regardless of views or values. The destruction of life in the form of war should not be permitted.

We will carry through the position of “no war,” never agreeing with actions and thoughts connected to the inducement or praising of the violence of war.

We continue the practice of “praying together, standing together, and walking together,” aiming at the realization of a peaceful world where all people can respond to the truth of being made to live and appreciate “the joy of living together.”